The Amazon Kindle has been extensively discussed on Blogs, Forums, the MSM (Main Stream Media) and various video interviews. The discussion almost always revolves around how the reading of books is affected. The discussions typically revolve around what, how and why people read books. To those who love and read books (an increasingly small percentage of the population), the Kindle can not replace the experience of reading a physical book, with the turning of pages, the ability to take notes, leaf backwards and forwards, and to 'feel' the paper. A striking observation about the book lovers who comment on the Kindle is that they almost universally mention how it would be attractive for 'some people' if not for them.

The Kindle is a perfect example of how people have a hard time figuring out how they will react to a new experience. For those of us (most of us) who have grown up with physical books, we 'like' the intimate interaction with the physical object - the feel of the pages and heft of the volume. It is hard for us to think about all of our accommodation to the fact that the book, as it has been ever since Guttenburg, has some serious deficiencies.

In point of fact, reading a physical paper book is a hassle. Here are some of my own negative experiences.

• It's heavy - holding a book for reading, especially when laying down, requires stamina and frequent hand-offs.
  
• It's awkward - hard to hold in one hand and, when using two hands, how do you eat the potato chips?
  
• It is difficult to search - of course you can page forward and back, but trying to find a specific character, situation, quote or phrase that you 'remember' reading 100 pages previously is difficult
  
• It has a crease in the middle - the binding causes the pages to warp! Does this make reading (not to mention copying) easier"
  
• It is difficult to mark your place - How many times have you 'bent the spine' to get the book to stay open at the place you want? Where is that bookmark anyway?
• Speaking of bookmarks - what a hassle. I need many. Where have I put them, how do I arrange and use them? I've dropped the book, where was I? Physical bookmarks are a hassle!
  
• It is awkward to make notes. You'd like to take a pen and write on the pages, but you are hesitant to 'damage' the book. Besides, how do you search your notes? Having to go back and leaf through every page? Plus, how do you hold with one hand and write with the other? It's not that easy.

Now why aren't these 'deficiencies' of the traditional book recognized? It turns out that we have had almost 400 years of accommodating to the form of the current paper book. It is comfortable and familiar. To those book lovers who control the conversation about the book ecosystem, the familiar and traditional is comfortable.Because of their accommodation, they do not recognize the 'problems' listed above and they tend to dismiss and counter any suggestion of a better way of reading.

Now this is not to say that early technologies haven't been without their difficulties. Indeed, one of the most attractive aspects of books, that they can be read anywhere, in any (reasonable) lighting, with no power required, have been hard to duplicate with new technologies. But these issues are being addressed and solved.

In the forseeable future, there will be no more paper-based books.

Technology Effects

Community Needs and Desires

Possible Personas

URU Assessment

Opinion and Outlook

Overall prognosis